Shattered to His Soul
by PJ in NH
Summary: Coda to Shattered, from Tom's point of view.


Title: Shattered to His Soul  
Contact: kelhapam@worldpath.net  
Series: VOY  
Rating: PG  
Code: P  
Part: 1/1 NEW  
Date: January 2001  
  
Summary: A coda to Shattered, from Tom's point of view. Spoilers  
contained within.  
  
Disclaimer: Paramount owns Voyager and its characters. I've only  
borrowed the characters to satisfy my own creative urges.  
Archiving is okay, just e-mail me. Please keep disclaimer and my  
name attached.   
  
Special thanks to my beta readers: Ronda and Marianne.  
  
  
Shattered to His Soul  
January 2001  
  
  
He had stumbled across the file while helping Tuvok repair a  
communications relay after Voyager had been attacked yet again.   
At first he didn't even know what it was he was listening to. By  
the time he did, it was too late.   
  
Chakotay should be more careful, Tom thought. A man of his  
position and experience, should learn how to better encode his  
personal logs--particularly logs which contained such  
confidential information. Information that no one else should  
know.  
  
"Mr. Paris, please pass me a sonic wrench."  
  
Tom looked up from an open panel still holding an audio device  
against his ear, the Vulcan's words barely registered.  
  
"Mr. Paris, the sonic wrench?" Vorik repeated.  
  
"Ah, sonic wrench," the pilot confirmed. "Got it." Finding the  
tool, he tossed it across the corridor into Vorik's waiting  
hands. He then picked up a cable splicer and turned away from  
the Vulcan.  
  
Vorik noted the blank look on the young man's face. Choosing to  
ignore it, he continued with the repair confident Paris would  
resume his own assigned task.   
  
Trying to refocus, Tom's hand tightened on the splicer until his  
knuckles whitened.   
  
The Captain dead. Chakotay too, seventeen years ago. It's what  
the future Icheb and Naomi had told the First Officer. It seemed  
so unreal...but then again that was what life was like on board  
Voyager--unpredictable. It was also one of those damned time  
paradoxes, but this one struck home, particularly when Chakotay  
recalled his visit to the Mess Hall.   
  
Chakotay noted during his time on Voyager when the ship had been  
fragmented into different periods of time, he'd visited the Mess  
Hall. That particular area of the ship was living in a period of  
time shortly after Voyager had been struck by an time-altering  
energy stream. By Tom's calculations, this could have been the  
incident which was responsible for killing the two senior  
officers. It was there in the Mess Hall, which was being used  
as a emergency Triage Unit, Chakotay had witnessed the pilot  
caring for the injured. Chakotay related how Tom told him there  
were a lot of casualties, and how he needed medical supplies and  
the EMH's help. The EMH? Had the Doctor also been a victim of  
the blast?   
  
It was just too much. The First Officer recalled a touching  
moment between Tuvok and the Janeway from the past. On one of the  
cots lay a severely injured Tuvok, his face severely burned from  
radiation poisoning. Janeway had gone to comfort her injured  
friend. Tuvok had extended the traditionally Vulcan greeting:  
Live Long and Proper, before he died.  
  
With an echoing clang, the splicer fell to the deck.  
  
Janeway, Chakotay, Tuvok--all dead, the EMH offline. And Tom  
Paris thus in charge of not only the ship, but of the medical  
facilities. In one chilling moment, he'd become Captain AND  
Chief Medical Officer. It was overwhelming. They had unexpected  
incidents happen all the time on Voyager. When the crew woke in  
the morning, they never knew exactly what the day would hold. If  
they'd spend another routine day on the ship, or be embroiled in  
a life or death battle.   
  
But damn! Could he, the here-and-now Tom Paris cope if the  
circumstances ever called on him to be the ship's captain? What  
if Voyager's three senior officers did die in battle? What if  
the Doc, couldn't be brought on line? Then what? Could he  
handle the situation?   
  
Oh he knew he'd have help. Harry would make a fine first  
officer, and he could finally give Harry the second pip he so  
deserved. Seven of Nine could assume Harry's responsibilities on  
the ship, she'd be...efficient. Ayala would succeed Tuvok. And  
there were a couple of very competent pilots, either of whom  
could become chief pilot. Of course, B'Elanna would still be in  
Engineering. He knew his wife would never want to be stuck on  
the Bridge away from her precious warp core.   
  
Why was he thinking about this? Why was he already making plans  
in his mind? Damn, he didn't want anything like this to happen.   
Maybe he was just being morbid? It was like every time his  
father was late returning home from a mission. He had these  
awful thoughts course through his brain that the Admiral had met  
some dire fate. He found he just couldn't help it.   
  
Tom swallowed hard and with a subconscious shake of his head,  
whisked the negative thoughts away. He put the information he  
had learned from Chakotay's log in a far away place in his mind,  
hopefully never to be remembered again. Picking up the splicer  
he stoically returned to his task.   
  
Suddenly the ship shook, the klaxons blared and red lights  
flashed.  
  
::::Senior Staff report to the Bridge! We are under attack!::::  
  
  
The End  
  
Email is greatly appreciated, please send it to kelhapam@worldpath.net.  
  
  



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